When Ride the Wind is played on a unit at Vilemaw's Lair targeting the base as destination, what happens? Does the unit move nowhere, or must the opponent choose a different destination like the other battlefield?

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Accepted Answer

If you play Ride The Wind on a friendly unit at the battlefield containing Vilemaw and you chose that unit's Base as the Move destination, the choice is legal and the unit is moved to its controller's Base (and readied) when the spell resolves. The opponent does not get to redirect the chosen destination at resolution unless a game effect changes the destination's legality or the unit itself, in which case the move instruction may be ignored per the normal rules for resolution.

The controller of Ride The Wind chooses the friendly unit and chooses the destination (their Base) when finalizing the spell per [355.1] and [355.4]. Because the Base is a different valid Location than the unit's current battlefield, it is a legal destination under [355.4.a]. The spell will move the unit to its Base and ready it as it resolves. The opponent does not get to pick an alternative destination unless another effect changes the set of legal destinations before resolution, in which case the move instruction will be followed as much as possible or ignored for that part if it cannot be executed per [359.3.e.6].

When you play Ride The Wind you make its choices as part of finalization: you choose the friendly unit to move and you choose its Move destination now per [355.1] and [355.4]. The destination you choose must be a valid Location — i.e., a different location than the unit's current one where that unit is allowed to be present — so the unit's Base is a legal destination from a battlefield per [355.4.a]. The opponent does not get to change that chosen destination as the spell resolves; the Move instruction resolves and moves the unit to the chosen Base and then the spell readies it. If something changes before resolution so that the chosen Move destination or the unit itself can no longer be acted on (for example the unit ceases to exist or is no longer allowed at that destination), the Move instruction will be followed as much as possible or ignored for that part per [359.3.e.6].

If the unit changes to a non-board zone (e.g., banished to hand or trash) before Ride The Wind resolves, it is no longer the same game object and the Move instruction can't be performed on it; that part of the instruction will be ignored per [359.3.e.4] and [359.3.e.6]. If some effect makes the chosen Base an invalid destination before resolution (for example a hypothetical effect that forbids that unit from being at Base), the Move cannot be performed and that instruction will be ignored per [359.3.e.6]. If the unit is somehow no longer a 'unit' by resolution (e.g., transformed), then the Move instruction can't be executed and is ignored per [359.3.e.6].

When a spell that Moves a unit is played you make the Move destination choice as part of finalizing the spell on the chain [355.1] [355.4]. A 'valid Location' for a Move is any location other than the unit's current Location where that unit is allowed to be present; a unit's Base is such a location when the unit is currently at a battlefield, so choosing its Base is legal [355.4.a]. Therefore, playing Ride The Wind on a friendly unit at the battlefield containing Vilemaw and choosing that unit's Base as the destination is a legal play, and the spell will move the unit to its controller's Base and ready it when it resolves. The opponent does not get to replace your chosen destination with a different battlefield; choices of the spell's controller are fixed at finalization. If something happens to make the Move impossible (the unit leaves the board, the destination becomes illegal, etc.) then the instruction is followed as much as possible or ignored for that part when the spell resolves per [359.3.e.6] [359.3.e.4].